Snowmobile skis typically have an elongated removable steering skag (sometimes also called a wear-bar) carried on the underside (i.e. bottom surface) of the ski (and usually on the keel thereof when the underside of the ski has a keel). The skag acts to increase the bite of the ski on groomed trails, on hard-packed snow and in icy conditions when the ski is turned. The skag is also used to lengthen the life of the underside of the ski by being the contact point or wear point of the ski on the ground (as opposed the other usually plastic parts of the underside of the ski) when the ski is in contact with the ground or other hard surfaces (e.g. road surfaces).
Conventional skags are normally an elongated piece of metal such as a steel rod having a circular or square cross-section. One such prior art skag 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. This prior art skag 10 has a front 12 and a rear 14 that are normally angled slightly upwardly from a middle 16 to avoid the skag digging into the ground during use. The skag 10 is placed under the snowmobile ski such that it runs longitudinally along the underside of the snowmobile ski. In use, when the ski is travelling straight ahead, the skag 10 produces very little drag. When the ski is turned, the skag 10 is turned and creates drag over the ground surface and enhances the turning of the snowmobile. For extremely icy conditions, the bottom of the skag 10 could be equipped with one or more sharp triangular carbides 18 which further enhance the drag created between the ice and the skag 10, thus further increasing the turning capabilities of the snowmobile ski.
Conventionally, removable prior art skags such as the one shown in FIG. 1 are secured to the underside of a ski by using studs 20. Studs 20 are fixed, preferably welded, to the skag and extend upwardly away from the skag perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the skag. The studs 20 are normally threaded to accept a nut. In most cases, a skag will be equipped with two or more longitudinally spaced studs to prevent bending of the skag when encountering side forces. To secure the skag to the underside of the ski, the studs are passed upwardly through holes in the ski and each receives a nut on the top side of the ski such that when the nut is in threaded engagement with the stud, the ski is sandwiched between the skag.
Typically, the material chosen for mass produced studs is of a high quality in order create durable threads, while that of the rod need not be of such a high quality since it is not threaded. The two materials are welded together to form the skag. However, this normally causes the welds between each stud and the rod to become the weakest point of the skag. Because the studs are attached perpendicular to the rod, the studs and particularly the welding are under shear stress when the ski is in use. Under certain circumstances, such as when the snowmobile is traversing a paved road or railroad tracks, the shear stress may be very high. The diameter of the stud and the amount of welding applied around the contact between the stud and the rod must be sufficient to withstand these high amounts of shear stress. In some cases, the shear force is nonetheless too high and the rod may be completely sheared away from the skag. This is undesirable. In other cases, the amount of material required to prevent this from occurring undesirably increases the cost of the skag.
Further, in conventional skags at least one of the studs passes through the ski close to the ski leg of the snowmobile, making access to the nut cumbersome due to its proximity to the ski leg. This makes it difficult for the skag to be removed and for a new skag to be attached.
Additionally, with the conventional construction of having the studs of a conventional skag perpendicular to the rod, there is always a possibility that the skag could be fitted to the underside of the ski in the wrong orientation (i.e. backwards) if the studs are equally spaced over the length of the rod.
Thus, while the current design of conventional skags is sufficient to provide a removable skag that enhances the turning capabilities of a snowmobile ski, there exists a need to provide an improved skag.